Amanda
An Immortal and master thief who steals for both profit and thrills. She has a reputation for being a liar and using people to achieve her financial and pilfering goals. Amanda has been many things for Duncan MacLeod over the centuries: a source of both amusement and frustration, a friend, an annoyance, a confidant, and on more than one occasion, a lover. Personality Compulsive, intelligent, and sly, Amanda is manipulative and deceitful toward friend and foe alike, though not truly malicious. For centuries she has lived her life without looking back, uncaring of the chaos left in the wake of her actions. Taking care to avoid stealing from good-hearted folk, she primarily targeted banks, museums, and the obscenely rich - a character trait that was later cultivated by others, turning her into a steadfast friend despite the occasional museum caper or estate pilferage. History Amanda was born around the year AD 820 in the Abbey of St. Anne in Normandy, France. Despite being poor and uneducated, she was intelligent, and knew she would have to steal if she wanted to eat. Her first death was in 850 during the Black Plague, when she was beaten to death for stealing food from a plague-ridden residence. Her body was to be cast into a bonfire, but she was rescued by Rebecca Horne. Rebecca became her mentor and friend. More than just instructing Amanda on how to survive The Game, explaining the rules as well as training her in swordplay, Rebecca taught her how to live (''Legacy''). Amanda, however, was unable to let go of her past, and one night tried to steal the Methuselah Stone from Rebecca. Caught in the act, and humbled by Rebecca's forgiveness of her betrayal, Amanda was so moved by Rebecca's kindness and generosity, that she resolved to repent and committed herself to becoming a proper lady, living a normal life free of crime. She appeared to be successful for at least three years, after which Amanda left Rebecca's abbey in 853. As Rebecca had done with her other pupils, she gave Amanda a part of the Methuselah Stone as a parting gift. Later that same year, during her travels Amanda met the Immortal Hengist the Saxon who challenged her. Fearing for her life, she ran back to Rebecca's abbey knowing she would be safe on Holy Ground. Rather than console her, however, Rebecca advised her to face her demons and stop running; advice which Amanda heeded. She faced off with Hengist, and received her first Quickening (''Methuselah's Gift''). Leaving the abbey once more, and unable to predict what the future would hold for her, Amanda returned to the one thing she knew best - thievery. Combining Rebecca's wisdom with her cunning, Amanda was able to parlay her abilities into a lucrative career over the next several centuries. She became one of the most successful thieves in Europe. In the year 1182, Amanda was in England when she happened across a farm whose inhabitants had been slaughtered by the Normans. She found Kenneth, a ten year old Saxon boy, who had revived and became Immortal. Becoming his first mentor, she taught him to use his innocent appearance and youth to his advantage, offsetting bigger and more powerful opponents. Forming a partnership, the two became thieves wanted all over the region. Amanda was captured by Norman soldiers a year later and hanged. Not believing that she would come back to life, Kenneth ran away. After reviving, Amanda searched for him for three years to no avail. They would not meet again until 1995 (''Reunion''). Traveling in Monaco in 1297, she met the Immortal Philippe Canella, who, with a group of men disguised as monks, were assisting Francisco Grimaldi to wrest control of the principality from Ghbellines, convincing her to leave Monaco that very night. In later years, Amanda had run-ins with other Immortals like Vladimir Rankov, Liam Riley, and Jeremy Dexter to mention but a few. In 1610, Amanda was in the Netherlands, teaching Evan Peyton about his Immortality and how to survive. Despite Amanda’s teachings about moving on from his old life, however, he still wanted his inheritance, and poisoned his adopted brother in order to inherit his family's estate. Amanda felt she had no choice but to expose Even who then fled. In 1635, Amanda was in Florence, Italy, visiting Rebecca. The two women sensed an Immortal close by who turned out to be Duncan MacLeod. While MacLeod was feeling put off at the thought of doing combat with a woman, Amanda used her skills to steal his purse. But only minutes later he had tracked them down, retrieved his purse, and suggested the three of them have a drink. It was the beginning of a long friendship (Legacy). In 1643, in Germany's Black Forest, she crossed paths with Dr. Julian Heller who sentenced her to burn at the stake as a witch along with another woman. Although she managed to escape, it came at a price: she killed the other woman to end her suffering on the stake. Amanda swore vengeance on Heller. In 1720, Amanda traveled to the New World, voyaging to Haiti where she became involved with a slave family during the uprising. Promising the family that she would preserve their heritage, she and the family fled the country on board a ship called the Maria Rose. Unfortunately, en route to its destination the ship sank, drowning the family. A locket containing the papers of the family's birthright was lost. Heading to near East in 1753, Amanda landed in Turkey where she became a harem dancer as a cover so that she could steal a sultan’s treasure. Unsuccessful, she was caught and sentenced to have her hands cut off. Duncan McLeod, however, happening to be visiting the Sultan as a military consultant, intervened and saved her (''Finale''). Duncan later relayed that he was nearly flayed alive when they came looking for her (The Lady And The Tiger). Returning to the New World in 1776, Amanda worked behind the British lines as a camp healer during the American War for Independence. There she met Liam Riley again, who was serving as a soldier in the British army. After he accidentally shot a woman who was trying to protect her son Sean, Liam became guilt-ridden. Having a religious upbringing, Liam vowed to leave the military behind and become a priest if the woman survived. Tending to the woman, Amanda managed keep her alive, but the respite was temporary, and she later she died of her wounds. Feeling that it would shatter him if he ever found out, Amanda decided not to tell Liam the whole truth, only that she had improved. She returned to France in the middle of the Revolution a few years later, and Amanda was arrested, and sentenced to be guillotined by the Immortal, Talia Bauer. Amanda convinced her fellow Immortal to release her, however, in exchange of a return favor one day. Circa 1800 found Amanda living with Duncan MacLeod on a large estate in Bavaria. While there, she partnered with Zachary Blaine to steal the jewels of Baron Holstein. MacLeod returned from a trip to Munich to find Amanda packing, which neither surprised or concerned him. She left that night, after planting the Baron's signet ring on his bed side table and stealing MacLeod's horse. She and Blaine made off with the jewels, leaving MacLeod holding the bag. When MacLeod finally caught up with her, she swore she hadn't meant to get him into trouble (The Lady And The Tiger). About the year 1819, Amanda also stole the Star of India from the Duke of Wellington. In 1867, she married Immortal, Derrick Markham, in Manchester, England. Their marriage ended when Amanda reported him to the police after he killed a boy he had kidnapped rather than release him after receiving the ransom. Pretending to be a wealthy French woman in 1888, Amanda arrived in San Francisco at the Double Eagle, a saloon owned by Immortal Kit O'Brady where she found Duncan MacLeod was working at the card tables. MacLeod, tried to run interference between Amanda and Kit, who were both his friends. But Amanda enticed the gambling-addicted O'Brady into a high-stakes poker game, playing him to the point he bet the deed to his saloon. Winning O'Brady's beloved establishment, she immediately dropped her naive French persona. Kit called her a cheat and Amanda callously refused to consider his attempt to buy back the saloon, or even return his lucky coin which was mounted over the bar. Renaming the place The Queen Of Spades, Amanda had Kit thrown out on the street. She made some modifications to the place, and felt that for the first time in her life she had really accomplished something. But when the saloon later mysteriously burned down to the ground Amanda blamed Kit, and swore revenge on O'Brady (''Double Eagle''). After she reloceted to New York, she fell in love with the adopted son of silversmith, Morgan Kenworthy. After the young man was murdered in a labor dispute, which also resulted in Morgan's First Death, the elder Kenworthy vowed to kill his son’s killer, and the best of each generation descended from him. Amanda claimed to have been with Czar Nicholas II of Russia (presumably some time between 1890 and 1911) (''Double Eagle''). Amanda was on board the Titanic when it sank in 1912. During the First World War, in 1917, Amanda dressed as a peasant girl and robbed a courier. The courier was carrying a message that would have saved an American unit from death, with a pre-Immortal John Ray Fielding among the dead. In 1921, Amanda returned to America, meeting Zachary Blaine again. Together, the two began to tour the American Southwest as part of a circus high wire act. She decided to leave a few months later over a pay dispute. The same year, she met fellow Immortal, Cory Raines, a charming bank robber and self-styled Robin Hood. Taking a liking to Raines, she decided to join him in a series of robberies, with Duncan along to dig them up whenever they were shot down. By 1926, Amanda was with the Barnum & Bailey Circus on its tour of the southwest along with Duncan MacLeod. After she left the circus, it turned out that a federal marshal was looking for her in investigation of a string of robberies across five states. Amanda escaped, again leaving Duncan in the midst of questionable circumstances (The Lady And The Tiger). Heading back to Europe in 1936, Amanda posed as a cabaret singer in Berlin while covertly acquired a set of forged U.S currency plates. The Gestapo, however were on her trail and she was seeking a way to escape Germany when she happened upon Duncan. He distrusted her, as always, and ditched her while he pursued his mission to smuggle a scientist out of the country. He procured a two-person plane to transport the man, but was betrayed by his contacts and the authorities tried to arrest them. Amanda followed Duncan and helped him to overcome the Germans. As reinforcements arrived, Duncan put Amanda and the scientist in the plane (and unknown to him, the plates Amanda acquired) and sent them off as he dealt with being trapped in Germany (The Return of Amanda), A few years later, Amanda met up with Duncan again in Scotland, where they joined Hugh Fitzcairn for a golf game. When the two discovered that Fitz cheated during a previous game in 1720 which involved a decision whether to steal the Stone of Scone or blow up the King's armory, Duncan insisted that they go after the stone again. Thinking that the stone was a gem, Amanda approached another Immortal, Lord Bernard Crimmins, to bankroll their attempt, promising him a share of the loot. Upon discovering the stone was actually a stone, she was furious when Duncan escaped with it. But when Amanda was caught, she implicated Fitz. With some help from his World War II contacts, Duncan arranged for his friends' release and for the return of the stone with a reasonable cover story, after which the trio returned to Scotland for another golf game. By 1985, Amanda was back to her dual circus/cat-burglar lifestyle along with her old partner Zachary Blaine. This time she was Amanda LeFauve of le Cirque Moreno. By her later account, Blaine became annoying and greedy, so she arranged her own death and had him convicted of her murder, and he was sent to a maximum security prison, and out of her hair (''The Lady and the Tiger''). In 1993, Amanda was again working in a traveling circus, the Diana Moreno-Bormann ''in Europe as the trapeze artist known as ''The Amazing Amanda Deveraux. She anonymously sent Duncan tickets to the circus. Not knowing who the tickets were from, he arrived with his girlfriend, Tessa, and their young friend Richie Ryan. After the performance they said hello to Amanda, but not wanting to be involved with the deceitful woman, not to mention wanting to avoid the tension sparking between her and Tessa, Duncan said goodbye. That night, Amanda was confronted by Zachary Blaine who had just escaped from prison. To save herself she offered him a 10 million dollar heist. When he said he would rather kill her, she offered him the head of Duncan MacLeod instead. Amanda then went to see Duncan and told him that there was an unknown Immortal hanging around the circus. She had to work hard to get Duncan to agree to go there with her, as he knew her of old, and was reluctant to get drawn into her schemes again. But he went to the circus and encountered Blaine. Their fight was interrupted, and Blaine departed. MacLeod didn't know whom he had fought, and when he asked Amanda, she swore she didn't know him either. Amanda tried to seduce him into staying, but Duncan, suspected she was up to something, and left. MacLeod later recalled that the attacker resembled an escaped prisoner on the news, so he looked up the newspapers, and found that Blaine's escape attempts included walking across a telephone line like a circus performer. Duncan confronted Amanda and demanded answers. Amanda revealed that she and Blaine had been partners for centuries, that he became greedy, so that she faked her death, and framed him for her murder. She claimed his hatred for MacLeod was because she always made Blaine feel second best to him. She also explained the plan to steal a ten-million dollar book at the museum, and she asked Duncan to help her acquire it and run away with her, but he wanted none of it. To prevent him interfering, Amanda had Duncan overpowered by circus performers who were to hold him until morning. She and Zachary were about to steal the book when Duncan, who had escaped, arrived and set off the alarms. Zachary and Duncan face off, and when Duncan defeated him, Amanda seized the opportunity to take Blaine's head and quickening in a flouting of the Rules. Amanda made one last attempt to get Duncan to leave with her, but he was committed to Tessa. Duncan then took back the book that she stole (''The Lady And The Tiger''). Months later, after hearing of Tessa's death, Amanda went to MacLeod. He defended her when she was attacked by two men who turned out to be FBI agents. One agent killed his partner and revealed that they were searching for two counterfeit currency plates - the same ones which Amanda had stolen in Germany in 1936. He threatened to plant evidence which would implicate them in the murder of his partner unless they gave him the plates. They agreed, but reversed the blackmail and got him arrested. She renewed her offer to restart a relationship with Duncan. He seemed to contemplate the idea, but said that it wasn't the right time for him (''The Return of Amanda''). In 1994, Amanda dropped in on MacLeod's barge in Paris, after learning that her mentor, Rebecca, had been killed. She was determined to take her revenge against Rebecca's killer, but she knew that he was quite skilled, and that she might not survive it, so she decided to spend what might be her last days with her sometime paramour, Duncan. It was Luther, another one of Rebecca's students, who killed had her while trying to accumulate all of the crystal pieces of the Methuselah Stone which Rebecca had given to each of her students after completing their training with her. The stone was said to give the bearer incredible power. Amanda confronted Luther, but she was no match for him. But before Luther could take her head, Duncan arrived and revealed that he had her piece of the Stone, so Luther attacked MacLeod instead. MacLeod beheaded Luther, then Amanda attempted to convince him to find Luther's hiding place to retrieve the rest of the crystal. Duncan, however, did not believe in the legend and was not interested (Legacy). It later transpired that the Watchers had taken the Stone and put it on display within their headquarters. Inspired by Duncan, and perhaps by the memory of Rebecca, Amanda decided to retire from her life of crime and do honest work. She became head of security for a rock star and toured with him, but hated the arrogant man, and soon feeling she wasn't cut out for a regular job. While passing through Seacouver, she stayed with Duncan who introduced her to Joe Dawson. That night, Joe's girlfriend was murdered and Amanda joined Duncan in investigating the incident which led them to a private museum which held an artifact Duncan recognized as having been stolen in the murder of Catholic priests. Finding that the museum was owned by John Durgan, the immortal who had committed the murder for the relic, but who would not meet any person nor confront Immortals in the Game, Duncan decided he needed to steal the relic to draw Durgan out. Exploiting soft lighting, wine, a gift of a gold necklace and a romantic evening, Duncan enticed Amanda to help him infiltrate the museum and steal the artifact. Initially reluctant to give up her newly acquired honest life, she finally agreed on the condition that she would be totally in charge of the caper. Together they liberated the relic, and Amanda obtained another object while Duncan wasn't looking (''The Cross of St. Antoine''). Soon thereafter, Amanda received a call from Duncan asking her to help him in mentoring recently Immortal Michelle Webster, a belligerent 18-year-old whom Amanda took an immediate liking to. She agreed, and took her to holy ground to begin her training (''Rite Of Passage''). Back in Paris in 1995, Amanda heard about Kalas' vindictive crusade against MacLeod. Learning that Kalas had been convicted and was serving a sentence in a local prison, Amanda enacted a plan to break him out so she could kill Kalas in order to protect MacLeod. The plan went sideways and Kalas escaped. Amanda then went to Duncan, who was also back in Paris, and went to great effort to prepare him a fancy dinner in order to soften him up for the news of what she had done. Duncan was incensed that she had risked her life and she left, hurt, to try to track down Kalas on her own. In the meantime, a bereaved widow of a Watcher, Christine Salzer, had found her husband's files containing the interactive database of Immortals he had been working on. She promised to reveal it to the world, potentially unleashing a worldwide Immortal witch hunt. Under the weight of this threat, Duncan and Amanda reconnected at the Eiffel Tower, and ruminated over their pasts and future. Amanda wanted to throw it all to the wind, forget about the Rules and see what it felt like to jump from high atop the Eiffel Tower in front of everybody. Duncan joined her on the precipice, but convinced her to dance with him instead. Afterword, Amanda invited him to run off with her for a few decades. Meanwhile, Kalas had learned of the Watchers and managed to steal the computer disc. Kalas also threatened to release it to the world unless MacLeod gave up his head. With the threat of blowing the covers of every Immortal at stake, Duncan felt he had to consider giving in. Amanda fought Kalas again, but was again outmatched, and she had to make her escape. As Duncan went to meet Kalas himself, undecided as to whether he would let his head be taken or not, Amanda gave an uncharacteristic apology for being a pain all of these years, concluding with a similar confession to his earlier one, admitting her love for him. After Duncan's triumph over Kalas Amanda noted, "we've said some things we never said before," thus opening a new chapter in their relationship (''Finale''). Not long thereafter, Duncan returned to Seacouver. Some weeks later, Amanda arrived at his place unannounced, with large traveling chests, to which Duncan responded, "Welcome home." She soon was being very domestic, trying (unsuccessfully) to make meals for him. It became obvious that Duncan was hiding something from her. She followed him to a horse race track, thinking he was seeing another woman and demanded he tell her about the girl. MacLeod described a female, concluding with an introduction to a horse, which Amanda ecstatically assumed he got for her. The name of the horse was Double-Eagle, reminding Amanda of the casino she had won from Kit O'Brady in 1888 -- a casino which she had loved and which she believed O'Brady had burned to the ground. O'Brady, who was also MacLeod's friend, then entered and he and Amanda resumed the spat they left off 100 years earlier. When they drew swords, MacLeod informed them that they were partners in ownership of the horse. They agreed to hold off fighting each other until the horse raced the following day. Double-Eagle won, but Kit and Amanda still were filled with animosity. Just as they prepared to cross swords, Duncan produced an article that stated Kit's ship was lost at sea at the time the Casino burned down. Amanda apologized, but tempers were still frayed. Finally Duncan suggested that since they could not be partners, they draw cards for ownership of the horse. Amanda conceded to Kit, but after he left, she apologized to Duncan because she had actually drawn the winning card (''Double Eagle''). Days later, Duncan was again visited by the child Immortal, Kenny, and was surprised to find he and Amanda knew each other. Amanda was thrilled to be reunited with the boy she had discovered in 1182, when she had lived with and trained him for a year. Still working at domestic roles with Duncan, she felt that having Kenny with them practically made them a family. Duncan, however, had encountered Kenny before, he disliked and distrusted him. But Amanda convinced Duncan to let Kenny stay a few days until the Immortal Terence Kincaid, who was hunting Kenny, went away. In an unusually candid moment, Amanda asked Duncan if he thought she were nurturing and would have been a good mother. Despite knowing full well that Kenny was over 800 years old, Amanda couldn't help thinking of him as a child that she needed to protect. She was constantly dismayed at Duncan's callous attitude toward him. The next day, Kenny called Amanda, desperately pleading for help. Amanda rushed to save him, and Kincaid challenged Duncan, when Amanda saw Kenny sabotage the battle. When Duncan was weak from the quickening of Kincaid, Kenny handcuffed Amanda and went to take Duncan's head. Amanda quickly freed herself and followed, threatening to kill Kenny if he attacked Duncan. Kenny fled. Amanda then met and quickly formed a friendship with Anne Lindsey, Duncan's previous girlfriend (''Reunion'') . After a time, Amanda decided to try and help Duncan and Joe reconcile after the events of Charlie DeSalvo's death (''Brothers in Arms''). When Amanda learned that Duncan had been kidnapped by Immortal, Simon Killian, she persuaded Joe to help her rescue him. Melissa Berkowitz, an enthusiastic young thief caught Amanda's attention, and Amanda found herself showing the girl the thrills of high breaking and entering. Melissa idolized her new heroine, and the next day she changed her hair, and style to emulate Amanda. She was then kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity and poisoned by spiders by an Immortal, Simon Killian. In a profound change of character from the self-serving woman of the past, and in her grief, Amanda decides to move out of Duncan's, saying "I love you and you're my best friend, but I just have to go away -- I've got to get it together. . . I forgot how fragile they are." Further showing the changes in her heart, Amanda asked Duncan to go see Joe. "Life is too short... for him." (''The Colonel'') Back in Paris some months later (1996), Amanda awoke to several men in her apartment. They were masked, armed with rifles, and had a sword. She fought her way out and made her escape to Duncan, who had recently returned to Paris. After some investigation they learned that someone was trying to recover the pieces of the crystal called the Methuselah Stone. Legend said the stone could make an Immortal all but invincible. Amanda's mentor, Rebecca Horne had divided the stone over the centuries, giving a piece to each of her students when they finished their training. Amanda, angry about Rebecca's legacy being stolen and also, interested in the idea of becoming invincible, broke into the Watcher’s headquarters to steal back the crystals they had taken from Luther. But she interrupted another thief on the same mission: Methos. Amanda was furious, believing that Methos had sent the mortals after her for the last piece of the crystal. She attacked him but only succeeded in setting off the burglar alarm and both fled empty-handed. When Duncan asked about it, Methos told him that the legend of the Methuselah Stone also saids that it could make a mortal Immortal, and he wanted it for the woman he loved, Alexa, who was dying in a hospital in Geneva. At Duncan's request Amanda decided to meet Methos. On her way to the rendezvous, she was again chased by gunmen. Assuming Methos set her up, she attacked him. Initially reluctant to fight, he backed away, but realizing he had no choice, defeated and disarmed her. He seemed very close to taking her head before throwing his sword down. Calling Amanda a fool, he told her she understood nothing, "You try living one year knowing that your time is running out, knowing that when it comes to the final fight, however much you train, whatever tricks you have — you still lose!" '' Amanda finally understood, apologized and embraced him in his grief. Amanda and Methos broke into the Watcher’s headquarters together but were discovered. Methos took a bullet meant for her and she escaped with the Stone. She was intent on discovering if the stone worked, but when the Watchers offered to trade Methos for the crystal, Duncan made her agree to the swap. At the rendezvous, the Watcher behind the attacks on Amanda, Daniel Geiger, assembled the crystals and they magically reformed into a crystal sphere. The Immortals moved against the murderous Watcher and in the firefight the Stone was dropped, the crystal components fell from the bridge into the middle of a river. In the end, Amanda offered Methos the one crystal she had saved, but he refused. ([[Methuselah's Gift|''Methuselah's Gift]]). Shortly thereafter, Amanda dragged Duncan to see her old circus, the Diana Moreno-Bormann, reminiscing over love for the lifestyle. They bumped into her old boss, Marco, who tried to recruit her by mentioning they were on their way to a tour in Moscow. She said Moscow had the best circus audiences in the world. While watching the show together, they discovered the headliner was an Immortal, Danny Cimoli who allowed himself to be shot in public every day, and then revived. Together they decided they needed to see the magician. They discovered he was newly Immortal and completely unaware of the Game, and rather disbelieving of them when they informed him of it. When Damon Case began to pursue Danny, however, Duncan wanted to intervene, confounding Amanda as to why Duncan would interfere and protect someone he hardly knew. But when Danny started sharing his concerns with Amanda over losing his mother and his dream, her heart went out to him as well. She tried to find a balance between Danny's wishes and his reality, as well as between Duncan's struggle with fighting Case whom he doesn't consider to be an enemy. They ultimately let Danny go to pursue his dream against their better advice. In the end Amanda accepted Marco's proposal to go play Moscow, and talked Duncan into going as well, headlining the show with her (''The Immortal Cimoli''). Alternate Amanda In the series finale, To Be, while MacLeod was looking at the world as it might have been without him in it, it was revealed that without Duncan in her life, Amanda never abandoned her criminal ways, in fact, she became quite evil, ruthless, and acquisitive, rather than merely mischievous and reckless. In the alternate time line, she was beheaded by the Hunters leader, James Horton, who had corrupted and taken over the Watchers into Immortal hunters. Duncan had never existed to put a stop to them. Spin-Off Amanda returned in the spin-off series Highlander: The Raven. The show lasted one season, running from the fall of 1998 to spring of 1999. While being investigated by police detectives Hoffman and Nick Wolfe for a crime she didn't commit, Claudia Hoffman, jumped in front of a bullet to save Amanda's life, not knowing she was Immortal. Saddened by Claudia's sacrifice, Amanda began to realize there were real world consequences to her criminal lifestyle, and realized that she had to change her ways. At the beginning of the series, Amanda had settled in Illinois, still up to her old habits. Making off with a priceless jewel collection, even the arrival of Detectives Wolfe and Hoffman didn't dampen her high spirits. Things changed the following morning when she went to her regular fence, Harry, but found him dead. She was seen leaving and, when they went to arrest her, Wolfe and Hoffman found the gun used to kill Harry. Amanda made her getaway, and went to see Basil Morgan, another fence and an Immortal. Basil agreed to fence the jewels, but before he could, he too, was murdered. Amanda realized the killer must have been a cop, and searched Wolfe's apartment, but was arrested. As a revived Basil bailed her out, he recognized the voice of the man who shot him. By then, Nick had put two and two together, but the crooked cop tried to kill him. As Nick and Claudia went to arrest him, Amanda recovered the jewels from his car, only to find herself cornered. Claudia tried to save her, and both women were shot before Wolfe killed the dirty cop, Stanley Ferris. As Nick grieved for his partner, Amanda revived and fled, leaving Nick shocked. Soon, Amanda’s past came to haunt her when John Ray Fielding came looking for her, intent on making her pay for causing the deaths of his men during the First World War. Guilt-ridden when he explained what she had done, she offered to die for it, but Fielding decided to let her live, seeing that she was truly sorry. With Nick out of town, Bert Myers asked Amanda to help him break into a lawyer's house, to recover evidence that could implicate Wolfe in police corruption. Amanda agreed, but was furious when she found out that Myers had lied to her - the house belonged to a wealthy industrialist who was found dead. When Nick found out, he confronted Myers, who told him a partial truth - the industrialist, Ludwig Weiss, was his mentor in the Stasi when he was a double agent in his Cloak and Dagger days. He caught Bert at gunpoint when he and Amanda were in the house, so Myers shot him in self-defense. Ludwig had been blackmailing Myers into allowing an Indian environmentalist, Chandra, who his company was hired to protect, to be assassinated. Myers had wanted the evidence that connected him to his past. Ludwig's associate, Deiter Keller, continued the pressure on Myers, a plan was hatched and Amanda took the place of the target as the final twists of the plot unraveled. Nick killed Keller as he attempted to shoot the and Amanda exposed Ludwig's final ace - Myers' girlfriend, Catherine, was one of his agents, and a back-up assassin. Days later, Joe Dawson called to warn Amanda about Andre Korda, whom the Watchers are looking for. When Nick became involved, Korda sent his student Crysta after Amanda. After a face-off, Amanda emerged as the victor, although she felt that the situation had become too dangerous for Nick, and had Joe tell Nick that she was dead. She then fled the country. Nick travels to France, however, armed with her sword, intent on facing Korda. Nick's headstrong approach was no match for the experienced Korda, and Korda gunned him down. Amanda then heading for France with vengeance in mind, not knowing if Nick was alive or dead. In Paris, she sought help from Immortal priest, Liam Riley, and tried to locate doctors who might have treated Nick after he was shot. In Chinatown, she found a woman who told her that she treated Nick, but he had died. A distraught Amanda left with Nick's watch, only to find she had been set up. Nick was rescued by Bert Myers, who had been watching Korda. After a moment of honesty, Nick and Amanda picked up where they left off - arguing. Using Myers' contacts to gather together seemingly random events, Nick realized that Korda was about to go into the counterfeiting business. The police raided Korda's club, but he got away. As Nick and Amanda went hunting for him in the catacombs, Korda's men grabbed Myers and the scene was set for confrontation. Nick went after Myers as Amanda graduated at the expense of her former teacher, taking his Quickening. With Korda dead, Amanda and Myers bough his club, The Sanctuary, and Myers asked Nick to take over his European operations. Not too long after, she met Immortal Talia Bauer again, she found that Talia was working with a scientist to create a virus. Eventually, Amanda stole the toxin, while Nick distracted Talia. Talia threatened to kill Nick if Amanda did not return the toxin, but as the two faced off, Amanda won only to allow Talia to live - her life for Nick's. Talia, however, was not in a deal making mood, Amanda took her head, the Inferno of her Quickening neutralized the toxin, leaving no trace that it ever existed. Afterward, Amanda met up with her long time friendly rival, the Immortal, Jade. Amanda and Nick recovered a painting from Jade, but Amanda realized it's a fake. Nick's client, Sir Trevor Benton, had no intention of giving up the painting and was, in fact, donating the fake as part of an elaborate scam. To avoid detection, he arranged for Jade to steal it. When he double-crossed Jade, and both she and Amanda were shot, they put aside their differences long enough to work together in order to give Benton a taste of his own medicine. They framed him for a break-in at the museum. Amanda then met with her ex-husband, Immortal Derek Markham who wanted revenge against Amanda for her testimony against him over 100 years previously. She had never liked the idea of holding people for ransom, as was his standard play, but when it turned out he killed his victims rather than return them after ransom was payed, she had made sure he had been prosecuted, despite the fact that he had insisted on their marriage because a wife could not be compelled to testify against her husband. After their last encounter, their separation became far more permanent. Amanda and Nick were hired to protect the DuPont casino, but when the place was flooded with knockout gas, they succumbed and were unable to prevent the clientèle from being robbed. Amanda was the only one not robbed, because the gang was led by former lover and accompice Jeremy Dexter. With Interpol investigator, Nicolae Breslaw, taking a more than professional interest in Dexter's gang, Amanda tried to warn Jeremy to leave Paris, but Nick turned up every time she tracked Dexter, intent on arresting him, and not amused that he and Amanda were "Thick As Thieves". When it becomes clear that Breslaw was seeking revenge for his dead brother, Nick and Amanda conspired to set Dexter up, after which, Nick shot him. Convinced that Jeremy was dead, Breslaw left Paris. Amanda made her peace with Dexter before he too left. Amanda and Nick were approached by journalist Tim Helfet, who was in fear of his life. After they thwarted a murder attempt, he told them that he wanted them to steal the computer of the aide to an Eastern Bloc Prime Minister, which contained evidence that the man was betraying his country. Lured by the promise of a stash of diamonds hidden with the computer, Amanda agreed to help, but the attempt failed when she realized that the aide was Immortal Vladimir Rankov. They were forced to flee when he sensed Amanda. Amanda realized that Helfet had set her up, knowing her past history with Rankov. They tracked down "The Manipulator" and discovered that he was a Watcher, determined to avenge the death of his father, who had been Rankov's Watcher until Rankov discovered and killed him. The discussion was interrupted by another attempt on Helfet's life, and Nick killed the assassin, who turned out to be a Watcher. They finally managed to steal the computer, but Rankov captured Helfet and a trade was arranged. Amanda avenged the past by killing Vladamir while Nick rescued Helfet. Amanda sent him on his way with the advice to keep a very low profile so the Watchers might just let him live. Amanda would later on encounter the Immortal Sean who was hunting her friend Liam and challenged him, but she was distracted by the arrival of a mortal, and she was run through, but before Sean could kill her, the mortal Journalist, Lizzie Tynan, made that impossible and he ran. Amanda found Liam and told him that Sean's mother, whom Liam had accidentally shot so long ago, had died of her wounds. Liam, however, was determined to hold to his vow not to shed blood again. Amanda drew her sword to demonstrate that after 200 years of pacifism, he would not survive in the Game any more. Liam eventually faced Sean unarmed, and willing to die. When Liam refused to defend himself, Sean was unable to kill the priest in cold blood and when told that his mother had forgiven Liam, he did so as well. A canceled dinner date set in motion events that changed things between Nick and Amanda forever. Amanda's friend, Janet Ross, canceled when her brother, Tom, disappeared and Nick agreed to look into it. He found that Tom was working on a case of computer fraud and unwittingly alerted the thief. The thief traced him to The Sanctuary and made an appearance. Immortal Evan Peyton, known to Amanda for centuries, warned her to stay out of his business. Nick overheard the conversation and followed Peyton, who made short work of Nick, leaving him choking in a cloud of gas. Later, Peyton told Nick and Amanda that the gas was slowly poisoning Nick and he had less than 24 hours to live. Undeterred, Nick and Amanda intercepted Peyton's ill-gotten gains, with Janet's help. Peyton retaliated by kidnapping Janet. An exchange was arranged, the woman and the antidote for the money. Amanda, and an ailing Nick, arrived at the rendezvous, but Peyton tried to kill Amanda, who knew there never was an antidote and took his head. Nick was fading fast and, knowing that no hospital could help him, Amanda made a decision. She shot him, unsure that death by slow poison would be enough of a trigger, she knew a violent death would trigger his latent Immortality. When he revived, he was angry she had never told him what he was, and walked away from a distraught Amanda. Personality and Relationships Amanda was manipulative and scheming whether it be toward friend or foe, doing whatever was necessary to achieve her goals. For centuries she lived her life with a cavalier attitude, scornful toward responsibility with no sense of moral obligation and with no remorse for her actions. Yet despite her mischievous and wily nature, she rarely stole from people that were genuinely good-hearted, choosing to steal from banks, museums, or the very rich, whatever suited her purpose at the time and provided the biggest challenge. Extremely confident and cunning in her personality as well as her trade, Duncan once compared her to a shark, a term he also applied to the equally manipulative Methos. In keeping with her character, she has been known to exhibit a somewhat "catty" attitude towards those who scorn her, as shown by her famous comment after being provoked by novelist Carolyn Marsh,'' "She called me a cheap whore and a thief - I was never cheap!"'' Important Personal Associations: Duncan MacLeod Amanda's relationship with Duncan MacLeod was unique. She and Rebecca met Duncan in 1635. Her relationship with Duncan became an intimate one, continuing off and on for centuries. They partook of many adventures together, such as the theft of the Stone of Scone (1950) with Hugh Fitzcairn, and the bank robbery days a la Bonnie and Clyde with Cory Raines (1926). For most of these adventures, or misadventures, Duncan was a grudging participant, taking part in the shenanigans mainly as a means of watching over Amanda. She generally appeared in his life whenever she found she had need of someone trustworthy, be it his sword for protection or his indulgent nature in carrying out some nefarious task Amanda herself was unable to accomplish alone. Decades could pass without them seeing one another, but when they did meet, the time they spent together was passionate but never long-term. Not one to stay in one place for very long, Amanda would exit from his life as unexpectedly as she entered, and while Duncan certainly felt her absence, he didn't truly endeavor to make her stay. Amanda often manipulated him to do her bidding without hesitation or remorse, and although he appeared to be aware of this fact, he more often than not went along for the ride, more disgruntled than mad. Despite her devious machinations, however, she was loyal to Duncan, as he was to her. Though the two never expressed their love for one another -- it could be seen in their allegiance and devotion to each others causes -- until 1995, when under the threat of the world finding out about Immortals through the stolen Watchers database. Then Amanda admitted that she had always loved Duncan, and he didn't deny the same was true of him. Both had other liaisons throughout their lives, but fate would eventually lead them back to one another. In the series finale, Duncan admitted his love to Amanda and told her that she "made his heart glad." Methos She developed an ally and complex relationship with Methos, the only person that could match or beat her with his manipulations. More like siblings than anything else, their friendship was once strained to the breaking point because of the Methuselah Stone. Methos was also the only person she could turn to when Duncan became broody; after Immortal Steven Keane, who shared the same black and white point of view as Duncan, challenged him, for instance. Fearing for his life, Amanda asked Methos to help Duncan. Both of them knew that life was about change and about accepting who you were, good or bad, and tried to show the fact to Duncan. In the Highlander: Reunion special, Amanda wondered why it was they had never been lovers. Methos assured her that had they ever, they would have been great together. Kenneth (Kenny) 800 years ago, Amanda found a newly Immortal boy named Kenneth in England, whom she taught about The Game, and how to survive it. As he was only about 10 at the time of his First Death, he would forever live as a child. Amanda taught him that his main weapon would be his apparent innocence. After Amanda was hanged by the same Norman soldiers that had killed him and his family, he ran away. Amanda revived, but after spending three years looking, she was unable to find him. She crossed paths with Kenneth (now known as Kenny) again in 1995, Amanda came to realize Kenny was no longer a boy, but a ruthless man in a child's body after he betrayed both her and Duncan to Terence Kincaid. She had once thought him the child she could never have, but she finally realized the fact that he was an Immortal who was just as intent on winning the Game as any other, and should be treated as such. Derek Markham Amanda once married an Immortal named Derek Markham. Betraying him to the authorities in 1867 because she discovered he was a brutal murderer, the two were separated and estranged for 132 years, before facing off one last time in 1999, with Amanda emerging as the victor. Characterization Executive Producer Bill Panzer thought Amanda was "a beautiful, funny, international grand thief kind of character, who's crazy mad about MacLeod, but also crazy mad about her own freedom. And when Amanda comes into his life, if he's free, they have a moment. And she generally slips off into the night."2 Amanda in the Game With no real interest in The Game, Amanda instead focused on staying alive, and so had minimized the number of duels she participated in. When faced with another Immortal, she typically ran or conned her way out of battle, or had to be rescued by a friend like Duncan MacLeod. (Her tendency to use others to fight for her was evident in the number of Immortal friends and partners-in-crime that she accumulated.) On occasions where she sought out a battle, she almost always met with disaster. Because of this, despite her long life, it might be assumed she absorbed a relatively low number of Quickenings. During the original series her swordsmanship appeared to be less than exceptional, and was never actually shown fighting a winning battle, even against an unarmed Kalas. Her skills received a considerable upgrade after she spun off into her own series. Somehow, she suddenly became a skilled fighter, engaging in and winning numerous battles in a relatively short time. Most of the immortals she beheaded were very young compared to her, and they were not usually active participants in the Game. Below are listed her known Quickenings as seen in the original series and The Raven spinoff: *Hengist the Saxon, 853 ("Methuselah's Gift") (First beheading) *Zachary Blaine, 1993 ("The Lady and the Tiger") (Duncan MacLeod defeated Blaine, but Amanda beheaded him) *Mario Cardoza, 1998 ("Full Disclosure") *Stefan Collier, 1998 ("Immunity") * Wilson Geary, 1998 ("Passion Play") * Crysta, 1998 ("A Matter of Time") * Andre Korda, 1998 ("The French Connection") * Frank Brennan, 1999 ("The Rogue") * Talia Bauer, 1999 ("Inferno") * Derrick Markham, 1999 ("Love and Death") * Vladimir Rankov, 1999 ("The Manipulator") * Dr. Julian Heller, 1999 ("The Ex-Files") (Beheaded by Nick Wolfe) * Evan Peyton, 1999 ("Dead on Arrival") Here's a list of all of Amanda's known Watchers: Appearances * Highlander: The Series: - "The Lady and the Tiger", "The Return of Amanda", "Legacy", "The Cross of St. Antoine", "Rite of Passage", "Finale: Part One", "Finale: Part Two", "Double Eagle", "Reunion", "The Colonel", "Methuselah's Gift", "The Immortal Cimoli", "Dramatic License", "Money No Object", "The Stone of Scone", "Forgive Us Our Trespasses", "To Be", "Not To Be". * Highlander: The Raven: - "Reborn", "Full Disclosure", "Bloodlines", "Immunity", "So Shall Ye Reap", "Birthright", "Crime And Punishment", "The Unknown Soldier", "Cloak And Dagger", "Passion Play", "The Devil You Know", "A Matter Of Time", "The French Connection", "The Rogue", "Inferno", "The Frame", "Love And Death", "Thick As Thieves", "The Manipulator", "The Ex-Files", "War And Peace", "Dead On Arrival". * Books - White Silence, Evening at Joe's References ^ a b c Episode "The Lady and the Tiger", Bonus material, Article: "Amanda", in Highlander: The Series (season 1) (DVD, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2001), disk 6. ^ Episode "The Lady and the Tiger", Bonus Material, Bill Panzer's interview, in Highlander: The Series (season 1) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, 2001), disk 6. fr:Amanda unneccessaryse a Category:Females Category:Immortals